Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-03-12
THE MYSTERIeUS NAME.
SPOKEN ONLY. IN THE TEMPLE,
BY THE HIGH PRIEST ALONE.


ne Peculiar Interest Always Eyinced
BY Scholars and Antiquarians In the
Sacred a.d Mysterious Name OF God.
The Pronunciation Lost.
Once each year, on the Day OF Atone
ment, while the Jewish temple at Jerusa.
lem remained, the high priest was accus-
toned TO pronounce upon the bowed and
awe stricken multitude Of worshipers the
blessing which contained the mysteri-
Gus name Of God. On no other occasion,
and from the lips OF no other person, could
this name he spoken, and when the sacred
city fell before the Roman armies, and
the temple itself was razed to the ground,
the ceremony likewise perished and the
name was lost
A peculiar interest in this extraordinary
name has always been evinced byscholars
and antiquarians There is something in
the mystery that surrounds il, that ap-
peals alike TO the strict religionist and TO
the investigator whose only motive is the
desire 10 explore the region of the obsure.
What was this name that could not even
which has in consequence passed away
from the knowledge Of mankind'
As is well known, the consonants Of the
name are JHVH or YHVH; and since the
time Of the Hebraist Galatinus she popu-
lar usage has been TO pronounce il Jeho-
yah, following the example Of that scholar.
Yet no one believes this to be in any way
correct, and the ingenuity Of hundreds OF
commentators has been taxed 10 restore
the original vowels. The name itself,
however ii was primarily pronounced, is
one Of marvellous antiquity. II is derived
from verb, but was almost forgotten in
the time Of Moses, and its origin is abso-
lutely lost in the mists Of an antiquity
that makes the pyramids seem insuffer.
ably modern.
TOO SACRED TO BE SPOKEN.
IL was the essentially national name
given 20 the Creator by the Jews-the
name by which they thought of Him in
the privacy of their own homes, in the
presence Of their own altars-too sacred to
be spoken, save once each year. and by
the lips of tie consecrlted priest OF the
Most High. So hedget about was IL with
reverence that the Robbins did not even
dare TO write about IL, but allude 10 il
mysteriously as "The Name" or "The
Name Of Four Letters in which the
Samaritans likewise follow them. Yet,
although il seems 81 wholly Jewish, some
OF the most singular condolences are to he
found in the usage of other ancient
languages. In the Chinese, some thou.
sand years before Christ, there are allu.
sions TO a name OF three mystical letters,
"IHV," denoting that which none can
comprehend. Among the Ph9nicians the
name had equal reverence; the Greek
writers speak Of the great name' which
they imperfectly give as IEU0 OF LAO;
and an inscription in the adytum by the
temple of Isis at the Egyptian Sais recalls
the same dread tetrarammation. II
would seem almost as though this were
the title by which primeval man was
divinely taught to worship his creator.
As has been said, the name, so far as
can be learned, has never been pro
nounced since Titus destroyed the temple
at Jerusalem in A. ID. 20. Whether be.
fore that time il was ever in any way
fully committed to writing is quite un.
known. Some Of the rabbins who are un.
able TO deny that the recorded miracles OF
Christ were actually wrought declar,
that he accomplished them by accidentally
gaining possession of O parchment in
which "The Name" was fully written.
and which thus conferred upon its owner
extraordinary and supernatural powers.
THE SECRET WHOLLY LOST.
Whether previously written or not, il
must have been so recorded after Jerusa-
lem fell, for we learn OF individuals who
preserved the true pronunciation for many
centuries. JOsephus, in his Antiquities. A"
speaks of the name, but says that il would
be unlawful for him 10 explain il. The
Jewish Mishna speaks Of a jew named
Kamzar who was aware Of the sound OF
the letters In fact, as late as the year
1850 the oriental Leusden met jew al
Amsterdam who professed to be able to
utter them correctly. His family. he
said, had preserved the traditional pro
nunciation by means Of writing. Leus
den offered the man large sum Of money
II he would utter the word Just once, and
his offer was accepted; but shortly after,
and before the payment had been made,
50 great terror seized upon him as 70
seal his lips, nor could he be persuaded
either by bribes or entreaties To perform
his promise.
The secret, therefore, must be regarded
rs wholly lost; nor, perhaps, would aspirit
of reverence desire IL 10 be discovered,
though even the most orthodox Christians
regard the Jewish feeling about the name
as nothing better than a superstition.
Whatever one may think, the mystery
that surrounds the whole subject appeals
very strongly 10 the imagination, as is
seen in the melancholy end Of well
known American scholar, who devoted his
whole life 10 an investigation Of the name,
and upon whose mind the question wrought
80 strongly as TO produce insanity.
IL may he Of interest 10 give the various
pronunciations that different scholars have
considered the most probable. Cappel
would have ii Yahvoh; Furst, Yeheyeh;
Mercer, Ychveh, and Wright, Yahaveh;
but perhaps the majority Of Orientalists
incline 10 Yahveh. In reading the Hebrew
Scriptures the Jews themselves never pro-
nounce the word Mt all, but substitute the
ordinary Adonai, OF Lord. Home Jour
nal